Afternoon Chat with J.P. Zanella

Jean-Pierre Zanella is one of Quebec's most sought-after saxophonists, composers, and arrangers. A graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York (Master's in Jazz), he launched his international career in 1982 performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the International Saxophone Congress in Nuremberg — the same year his recordings with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and Saxology earned the Downbeat Recording Award for Best Jazz Group of the Year.
Over the course of his career, Zanella has collaborated with such celebrated musicians as Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn, Michel Legrand, Kenny Wheeler, and Gino Vannelli, and has performed at major jazz festivals across Canada, France, and Brazil. As founder of the Coop Jazz Big Band — winners of the Canadian Stage Band Festival — he has also left his mark as an arranger, notably crafting the instrumental version of the Montreal Jazz Festival's iconic theme, Summertime, in 1987.
Equally at home in jazz and popular music, Zanella has composed for radio, theatre, and the National Film Board of Canada, and has recorded alongside some of the country's finest instrumentalists.

Jon Gearey is recognized as one of the finest 7-string guitarists in North America, and has been an essential presence on the jazz scene since the mid-1980s. From Tokyo to New York, through Korea and the Montreal Jazz Festival, his career is that of an insatiable musician, always striving for perfection.
Settled in North Hatley since 2012, Jon and his wife Louise launched the popular Saturday Night Jazz at the Mercantile in 2022 — the beloved jazz evenings that ultimately sparked the idea for this very festival. A founding member of the festival's first edition, he now serves as President of the Festival de Jazz de North Hatley. A deeply committed educator, he currently teaches at Bishop's University and the University of Sherbrooke, while continuing to perform weekly in North Hatley and the surrounding area in a variety of musical settings.